Memorial will be open night of 9/11 for first timeNEW YORK — The Sept. 11 memorial plaza will be open on the night of the attacks’ anniversary this year, the first time the general public will be able to visit ground zero on the commemoration date. The plaza will be closed to the public during the remembrance ceremony and much of the rest of the day, but it will open from 6 p.m. to midnight for those who want to pay respects and view one of the most evocative observances — the twin beams call...

Obama orders airstrikes in Syria for first time WASHINGTON (AP) — Opening a new military front in the Middle East, President Barack Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria for the first time Wednesday night, along with expanded strikes in Iraq as part of "a steady, relentless effort" to root out Islamic State extremists and their spreading reign of terror. "We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are," Obama declared in a prime-time address to the nation f...

Source says Rice video sent to NFL in AprilATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A law enforcement official says he sent a video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee to an NFL executive five months ago, while league executives have insisted they didn't see the violent images until this week. The person played The Associated Press a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9 confirming the video arrived. A female voice expresses thanks and says: "You're right. It's terrible." The law enf...

Larger iPhones and smartwatch unveiled todayCUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — For the first time in years, Apple's iPhones weren't the star of the show. Apple unveiled a smartwatch on Tuesday, a wearable device that marks the company's first major entry in a new product category since the iPad's debut in 2010. The move is significant because of recent questions about whether Apple still has a knack for innovating following the 2011 death of co-founder Steve Jobs. The device's introduction upstag...

9/11 museum shows SEAL's shirt from bin Laden raidNEW YORK (AP) — The shirt a Navy SEAL wore in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and a special coin given to a CIA officer who played a key role in finding him are being displayed at the Sept. 11 museum, adding potent symbols of the terrorist attacks' aftermath days before their anniversary. The items are going on view Sunday at the ground zero museum, where leaders see them as an important and moving addition to a collection that often uses...

Detroit's historic bankruptcy trial beginsDETROIT (AP) — Opening statements in Detroit's historic bankruptcy trial began Tuesday afternoon in federal court, where lawyers for the city will attempt to convince a judge that its plans to wipe out billions of dollars in debt should be approved. Attorney Bruce Bennett, who is representing the city, went first during opening statements in U.S. District Court, saying though progress has been made, "the city is still in distress." He also sai...

6 die in fire at eastern North Carolina home GARLAND, N.C. (AP) — A fire swept through a mobile home in eastern North Carolina early Saturday, killing six people, authorities said. Five bodies were found in the rubble of the home immediately after the fire was put out around 1 a.m. Saturday, and a sixth victim was found a few hours later, Sampson County Sheriff's Capt. Eric Pope said. No one escaped the blaze, Pope said. Deputies and the Sampson County Fire Marshal's Office are investiga...

Strong California quake causes injuries, damage NAPA, Calif. (AP) — A strong earthquake rattled a swath of Northern California's wine country in the early hours of Sunday morning, unleashing most of its damage on the city of Napa in the heart of the vineyard-studded region. No deaths were reported, but more than 200 people sought medical attention and Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for southern Napa County. Here's a look at the quake and its fallout: MAGNITUDE: The magnitude...

USDA: Cost to raise child up slightly to $245,340A message for new parents: get ready for sticker shock. A child born in 2013 will cost a middle-income American family an average of $245,340 until he or she reaches the age of 18, with families living in the Northeast taking on a greater burden, according to a report out Monday. And that doesn't include college — or expenses if a child lives at home after age 17. Those costs that are included — food, housing, childcare and education — rose 1....

Bacall's legend more than just acting and Bogart NEW YORK (AP) — Lauren Bacall had one of those incredible lives. The wife and co-star of Humphrey Bogart. A Tony Award-winning actress. A National Book Award-winning author. A giant of fashion. A friend of the Kennedys. One of the last survivors of Hollywood's studio age. A star almost from the moment she appeared on screen to the day she died, Tuesday, at age 89, at a New York City hospital. "Stardom isn't a career," Bacall once observed, "it...

Actor Robin Williams dead at 63SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — Oscar-winner Robin Williams, whose free-form comedy and adept impressions dazzled audiences for decades, has died in an apparent suicide. He was 63. The Marin County Sheriff's Office says Williams was pronounced dead at his home in California on Monday. The sheriff's office says a preliminary investigation shows the cause of death to be a suicide due to asphyxia. Williams shot to fame in the late '70s as the alien in ...

2nd American aid worker with Ebola arrives in USATLANTA — A second American aid worker infected with Ebola arrived Tuesday in Atlanta, where doctors will closely monitor the effect of an experimental drug she agreed to take even though its safety was never tested on humans. Nancy Writebol, 59, arrived from Monrovia, Liberia, in a chartered jet at Dobbins Air Reserve Base and was then taken in an ambulance to Emory University Hospital, just downhill from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ...

Kentucky town opens filling station to the public SOMERSET, Ky. (AP) — Somerset's city hall ventured into the retail gas business Saturday, opening a municipal-run filling station that supporters call a benefit for motorists and critics denounce as a taxpayer-supported swipe at the free market. The Somerset Fuel Center opened to the public selling regular unleaded gas for $3.36 a gallon, a bit lower than some nearby competitors. In the first three hours, about 75 customers fueled up at the no...

Funerals being held for slain family near Houston SPRING, Texas — Six white caskets containing the bodies of a suburban Houston couple and four of their five children were wheeled into a church for funeral services Wednesday, not far from where the family was gunned down at their home a week ago. Stephen Stay, 39, his wife Katie, 34, and their four youngest children were being buried in a private ceremony after services at their Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The couple's 15-yea...

Lightning survivor has no memory of deadly strikeDENVER — A man whose wife was killed by lightning says he doesn't remember hearing or feeling anything when the bolt struck while they were hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park — only waking up to see a friend trying to revive her. Forty-two-year-old Rebecca Teilhet (TELL'-het) of Yellow Springs, Ohio, was one of two people killed by lightning last weekend in the popular park. She died Friday on a high-elevation trail. Her husband, Justin, a...

4 adults, 3 kids die in apartment building fire LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — An intense fire ravaged a three-story apartment building before dawn Thursday, killing four adults and three children, forcing tenants to jump or hand their children to safety, and leading to dramatic rescues from upper floors. The victims in this former mill city about 25 miles northwest of Boston were all found in units on the top floor of the building, which had a liquor store on the ground floor and apartments on the u...

6 dead, 4 children, in suburban Houston shooting SPRING, Texas (AP) — A father opened fire at a suburban Houston home Wednesday, killing four of his children as well as two adults who were with them, and critically wounding his 15-year-old daughter, authorities said. The teenager was able to call 911 and later warned deputies that her father planned to go to her grandparents' home to kill them, said Deputy Thomas Gilliland of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The suspected gunman eventuall...

Survey: Rapes not investigated at 2 in 5 colleges WASHINGTON (AP) — A survey of colleges and universities finds a lack of coordination between many campuses and local law enforcement in handling sexual assaults, and that many schools have gone years without investigating such cases. About 40 percent of colleges and universities reported not having conducted a sexual assault investigation in the past five years, including 6 percent of the nation's largest public institutions. More than 20 perc...

At 116, Arkansas woman named oldest American LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A south Arkansas woman celebrated her 116th birthday Friday with cake, a party and a new title — she's now officially the oldest confirmed living American and second-oldest person in the world, the Gerontology Research Group said. Gertrude Weaver spent her birthday at home at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation in Camden, about 100 miles southwest of Little Rock. This year's festivities included the new award from the Gero...

Man questioned in New Orleans shooting NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man identified by Louisiana police as a "person of interest" in connection with a weekend shooting in New Orleans turned himself in to police Wednesday and was jailed on unrelated charges. Nola.com http://bit.ly/1rlMt51 and WVUE TV http://bit.ly/TEhOkL reported that 20-year-old Justin Odom was booked into the Jefferson Parish jail on shoplifting and traffic-related charges. Odom had an attorney with him as he was interview...